I first tried making homemade almond milk a couple years ago, after many of you told me so many amazing things about it. It’s so creamy! It’s better than store bought! It’s a cinch to make! Homemade almond milk is the best!
And you know what? My first couple tries didn’t exactly knock it out of the park. Two words come to mind: hot mess! I used a cheesecloth and things didn’t go very smoothly, if you catch my drift. I’m sure some of you have a lot more finesse with a cheesecloth, but I did not seem to be one of those people.
This time, I finally took the plunge and purchased a nut milk bag (feel free to giggle). Also called sprouting bags, these mesh straining bags make homemade nut and seed milks (among other things) a total breeze. I cannot wait to explore its many uses.
This time around, my almond milk making process was indeed a breeze.
Here are some step by step photos to show you my process. You should also know that every time I type “step by step” NKOTB starts playing in my head. I don’t even mind it.
We are going to soak a cup of raw almonds overnight or for 8 hours or longer. Sometimes if I’m in a time crunch I just soak them for 1 hour or so and it still turns out fine. Rinse and drain the almonds and pop them into your blender along with 3-4 cups of filtered water (I like 3.5 cups water in this recipe).
Which nuts do you think your body would rather digest – the dry, hard as a rock nuts or the plump, juicy nuts?
Sorry, that sounded all weird and awkward.
My favourite flavour combo is a whole vanilla bean, a couple Medjool dates, cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt. Oh my lanta. It’s intensely vanilla flavoured with notes of caramel and cinnamon. The secret to an intense vanilla flavour is blending an entire vanilla bean. Just chop it up and toss the whole bean into the blender. You’ll be left with some amazing vanilla almond milk. Of course you can always use vanilla extract or liquid sweeteners too. If using the dates and/or vanilla bean, add them along with the almonds and water. If you simply want to add a liquid sweetener or vanilla extract, you can add them now or at the end. Your call.
Blend for 1 minute on the highest speed. Let’s go TURBO mode!!!!
Turbo mode scares me.
Place your bag over a large bowl and slowly pour in the milk. Thank you Eric for moonlighting as a hand model once again.

A lot of the milk will filter right through the bag without any effort.

But to get all of the milk out, you’ll need to do some gentle squeezing to encourage the milk through. This process took me a few minutes. As you can see in the photo on the right, I was left with about 1 cup of almond pulp.

I rinsed the blender out quickly and poured the milk back into the blender. I do this because I find it easier to pour the milk from the blender into the jar rather than from a large bowl into the jar. If you have a wide mouth funnel feel free to use that.
Check out those tiny specks of vanilla! I blended in a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of fine grain sea salt for even more flavour enhancing. Tell me, what’s better than Vanilla Cinnamon Caramel flavour?
Nothing.
You can use the almond pulp for all kinds of things like oatmeal, hummus, homemade granola, smoothies, cookie or muffin batter, crackers, or you can even dehydrate it and then blend it up to make almond meal. Oh, and you can freeze it too.
Man oh man, it tasted so lovely straight from the blender. I can assure you, it gets even better as it chills in the fridge.
I’ve never been a big milk drinker, but this almond milk had me going back to the fridge again and again and again for little sips. I can’t promise I’m organized enough to make this on a regular basis, but it’s a fun option to have up my sleeve when I’m feeling motivated or just want a special treat.
Homemade Vanilla Cinnamon Almond Milk
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Yield: 3.5 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water
- 3.5 cups filtered water
- 2-4 pitted Medjool dates*, to taste (I used 2 large)
- 1 whole vanilla bean*, chopped (or 1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- small pinch of fine grain sea salt, to enhance the flavour
1. Place almonds in a bowl and cover with water. It’s preferred to soak them overnight (for 8-12 hours) in the water, but you can get away with soaking for 1-2 hours in a pinch.
2. Rinse and drain the almonds and place into a blender along with filtered water, pitted dates, and chopped vanilla bean.
3. Blend on highest speed for 1 minute or so.
4. Place a nut milk bag over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk. This took me about 3-5 minutes to get all the milk out.
5. Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Add the cinnamon and pinch of sea salt and blend on low to combine.
6. Pour into a glass jar to store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Shake jar very well before using as the mixture separates when sitting. Enjoy with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for a real treat. This milk is also lovely with cereal.
Notes: If your dates or vanilla bean are dry/stiff, soak in water to soften before use. You can also use another sweetener of your choice like maple syrup. Same goes for vanilla – feel free to use vanilla extract for a more subtle vanilla flavour.
You might be wondering – If I don’t have a nut milk bag can I use a fine mesh sieve? Yes you can. I did a trial using my sieve. I didn’t find the milk got as smooth compared to using a nut milk bag, but if you strain it several times, it comes out decent. Also, feel free to try a cheesecloth, but I’m definitely not the person to give you advice using that method.
What about the cost?
Homemade almond milk can be cheaper than store bought or it can be more expensive; it really depends on your ingredients. When I see bulk almonds on sale, I like to stock up and buy a big bag. Pop a bag in the freezer to ensure they stay fresh.
To avoid almonds sprayed with the chemical propylene oxide, please see this article and this handy guide to common brands that do and do not use the chemical. If you are concerned about propylene oxide on your almonds be sure to check with your almond retailer to see what sterilization method is used.
Have you ever made homemade almond milk before?
Where do you buy almonds? Any good deals out there in store or online?







{ 219 comments… read them below or add one }
This is amazing! I’ve been waiting for a post on this. We’re getting a hand-me-down Vitamix and I’m so excited to try this. What deters me from normal almond milk are all the additives/ stabilizers, etc… while I’m sure they’re safe, pure almond milk sounds like the perfect drink.
What a great tutorial. I dont drink almond milk due to allergies but still enjoyed it. What I loved about this post is the difference between the soaked and dried almonds. I used to think it didn’t make a big difference but when you put up a visual- WOW is all I can. I will be soaking my nuts from now on. On a side note- I love the bowl in the pics. Where is it from?
Glad you enjoyed the post! It’s funny I actually prefer the taste of the soaked almonds now. They grew on me. The bowl is part of a set from Crate & Barrel a couple years ago. I think they come out with new colours every so often.
your photos are beautiful, angela. when i make almond milk, i use cheesecloth over my sieve, and yes it is a hot mess. where did you get your nutmilk bag from? i usually don’t add anything to flavor my milks, as i just use them for making oatmeal mostly, never drinking straight.
I can’t remember the store name, but I will go look it up and get back to you!
I too would love to know which bag you purchased.
I also used the cheesecloth and what a mess!
Can’t wait to try a nut bag!
do you think you could make a nut bag by sewing up a cheesecloth in that shape?
seems like it would be easy enough. anyone have any experience with this?
you can buy one at nutsonline also
I purchased it from a store in St. Catharines called Truly Organic Foods: http://www.trulyorganicfoods.com/nut-milk-bags.php
thanks. when i lift my cheese cloth up and twist it to “milk” it more, sometimes it tears and squirts out pulpy milk in any directions!
I’ve used “paint strainer bags” from the hardware store for this – after a good wash. They’re virtually identical and, upon googling, it seems like a common choice for similar food projects.
And thanks for the great post, Angela. I’d love to see some recipes for what to do with leftover almond meal. I find mine 6 months later building its own igloo in the freezer more often than not…
hah that’s exactly what happened to me!!!
I found a nutmilk bag that works great at Whole Foods.
The very first time that I had almond milk I had homemade! I loved it and still love it more than the store kind. I made it because I suddenly changed my whole lifestyle, and was so excited to live all homemade and natural. That didn’t last, but continuing with almond milk did, I agree it is such a nice treat. My boyfriend LOVES homemade and begs me to make it all the time, claiming it is so much better then the store kinds! I haven’t mixed it with dates etc, so I think I will try that. I go for the Bulk Barn, the raw kind are cheaper (yay for less processing) so I go that route for health and economic reasons!
Vanilla almond milk is my favorite milk of all time! Almonds are also my favorite nut. This post is perfect for me1
(The term “nut milk bag” is just awkward though, don’t you think?)
Yes I had to avoid cracking some awkward Eric handling nut bag jokes. heh
Ha! I wouldn’t have been able to control myself. Nope, there would’ve been lots of hubby holding nut bag jokes. He he he.
Thanks, this is a great tutorial and motivation to try homemade milk! I am glad to hear I can use the leftover pulp as almond meal too, that makes it much more economical. Question–what kind/brand of nut milk bag did you buy? There seem to be a lot of choices and they all look the same (maybe because they are…?).
I don’t think I could ever utter the phrase “nut milk bag” with a straight face… but this recipe looks great, and I can’t wait to try :)
This sounds absolutely delicious! I have never been a mylk drinker but this might convert me!
If you want to make a nice latte you can put 1 cup of fresh almond mylk in your vitamix along with ginger, cinnamon, cardamon and a pinch of pepper to make a delicious chai latte. I hope to post this recipe on my blog at some point this winter!
This looks so easy and delish! Can’t wait to try it.
YES! So excited you posted this! Ever since getting a vitamix I’ve wanted to try my hand at homemade almond milk!
I have a food processor and a standard blender. Could I make this using either one of those, or is success only guaranteed with a high speed blender?
Thanks!
I think a regular blender will work, you just might have to blend the nuts longer than 1 minute to get it smooth as possible
When I used a regular blender in the past I found that I had to make sure I soaked everything (dates included) for the full time (10-12 hours) and it worked pretty well. :) I also agree with Angela; you will probably need to blend longer.
I have a nut milk bag. I simply ordered off Amazon. Maybe $7?
I make almond milk in a regular ol’ plain Jane blueberries. Works fine.
Ummm…not blueberries. *blender* darn autocorrect.
I got a nut milk bag last year and have been making almond weekly ever since. It makes the process so much easier! I also use coconut water in my recipe instead of water and the taste is amazing!
PS – Did you know that NKOTB is touring with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men this summer? Amazing!
hah yea I heard about that the other day! Crazy
YUM! After your last post I set out to make my own again. I started giving almond milk to my son when he was 1 because he can’t drink regular milk so now we all just drink it. BUT he didn’t go for it. So I’ve been mixing half conventional and half homemade which is working but I think this just might be the ticket! Thanks! I have some almonds ready to go now. I do need to get a nut bag though *giggle*.
Stephanie, any tricks for making large batches on a consistent basis. I would like to transition my 1 year old onto almond milk as well, but that’s a much larger quantity of weekly milk consumed. I would love to hear any techniques that make your process easier.
Wow, beautiful photos in this post!
I used a stocking for my nut milks I use to make maybe I should purchase a nut bag, I would have less of a mess.. I am enjoying the vanilla specks they look so lovely in the milk…
Lovely photos!! I also have always used cheesecloth but just bought a nut milk bag. Can’t wait to try it out. I always love homemade on day 1, but have also not been quite as impressed. I need to do more experimenting, starting with this!
I have made hazelnut milk a few using the same method – combined with cold pressed espresso you get the most amazing iced latte ever. (Clearly, this was back in the warmer months!).
Without cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, I just used a few layers of paper towels which worked fine. Just have to be extra gentle when squeezing the excess milk out of the nut pulp.
what an awesome post, angela! those tiny flecks of vanilla bean made me swoon…
I’ve been waiting for you to post this recipe! My oat milk turned out fantastic, can’t wait to try this milk out.
I had NO idea it was this easy! This sounds like it would be perfect with some coffee. Thanks for the tutorial…can’t wait to try it! :)
Awesome tutorial, Angela! I’ve always wanted to try my own almond milk, and now I feel like I might just have the gumption to get up and do it. I especially like the added bonus of having that pulp around – I’ve seen people make raw carrot cakes with it, which sounds divine!
Thanks for posting this tutorial. We spend way to much on Almond Milk and the list of ingredients on the side of the carton always bothers me. I am disappointed to hear that Costco’s nuts are sprayed with that chemical. I’m also in Ontario, where do you purchase nut milk bags? Thanks!
Hi Angela: Love your site! You should mention that the importance of soaking the nuts is to remove some of the phytic acid from their skins – without soaking, the acid can inhibit absorption of other nutrients.. If consumed in large amounts it may not healthy…
That’s right! I think I read that years ago in a book called “Fit For Life”….and I use to make almond milk back then. I soaked the almonds overnight and then REMOVED the brown skins before blending. They popped right off (most of them) and the milk was wonderful. Nowadays I find it lots cheaper to just use the Blue Diamond brand. It lasts a long time in the fridge and works great on my oatmeal.
Wonderful post, thank you! Will you please do a post on what to do with the almond pulp. You made general references but I need some good, tried recipes. I love almond milk but don’t know what to do with the almond pulp. It sits in my fridge, gets moldy, and I throw it out. Next time — same song, next verse. Help please : ) Thanks!
If you use Pinterest there are many recipes for almond meal. I’ve made crackers and also simply thrown it into my homemade granola recipe.
This is the best tutorial on almond milk I have seen….and I’ve seen a lot! Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you! Can’t wait to make this a staple in my fridge. Also I really appreciate the inclusion of the almond information. I will be writing to the USDA Secretary. I’m so passionate about food and nutrition and I’m always looking for where I can do my part in changing the terrible state our food system is in. Thank you for this information and I’d love to see more of it in future posts! I’ve also signed up to help the label GMO’s fight… we really need to tackle that one.
NKOTB is everywhere these days! Apparently they’re doing some tour with Boyz II Men?! I can’t decide if that’s awesome or needs to die.
This recipe is beyond awesome. I’m making it today! I think I’ll try it with fresh cinnamon and the vanilla beans. Maybe some cardamom too??? So many possibilities!
I could make cookies from the pulp and dunk them in the milk! Yes please!
Weird question. The Mr is obsessed with the almond coconut milk from Almond Breeze. Would I add coconut flesh in with the almond when they soak or use fresh since it already has milk in it.
This looks great! I have made homemade almond milk–just soaked almonds and water. It gets the job done in a smoothie or on oatmeal/cereal, but it isn’t something I would really want to drink. I need to try this recipe, I think I could actually get my kids to drink it!
could you post some recipes using the almond pulp? I have a couple bags of it in the freezer and no ideas for how to sub it into recipes! Thanks!
Wow, I’ve never tried making almond milk before, but you make it seem really do-able! Will definitely be trying this out if I can find me one of those nut milk bags :). The almond pulp looks great too.
I absolutely love homemade almond milk! I’ve tried all sorts of addins. But my favorite so far is my Strawberry Almond Milk!
http://www.notsoperfectlife.com/2012/10/16/strawberry-almond-milk
I’ve been testing out some cereal nutmilk a la MoMoFuku Milk bar! I’m close to posted a Fruity Pebbles recipe…
That sounds so good!
Hi Angela – can you tell us where you bought the nut milk bag? I’m hoping somewhere local to you (so I can go get one too!) and not on lline, but the info would be great. I stopped drinking commercial almond milk because of carrageenan about 2 years ago and gave missed it.
Oops never mind, I missed your previous response!
Your pictures are always so beautiful! That last picture is fantastic.
I definitely want to try making this- especially with your recent post and the addition of caarcegean (or however it was spelt). Looks delicious.
This looks amazing – and super easy! I usually give my kids chocolate soy milk mixed with plain unswt soy milk in the mornings, b/c my husband is worried about their calcium intake, and those fortified milks cover it, but I do hate all the stabilizers and other weird ingredients in the milks. I’m curious about how much protein and calcium homemade nut milks have – any clue? Or other ways to specifically add calcium to my kids’ diets.
I feel so lazy now, always buying my milk drinks from the supermarket… I really should try this sometime, although I get through so much I don’t think I’d ever have to time to make it all from scratch.
Awesome! Im starting a 50 day “real” food challenge and was sad when I realized almond milk was OUT. But If I make it myself Im good to go. YAY I cant wait to try the recipe.
I’ve never tried to make homemade milk before, but this recipe looks so easy. I will definitely get the nut milk bag before attempting to make homemade milk because I am prone to disasters in the kitchen and I can just see myself making a mess trying to strain this with a cheesecloth! haha!
This recipe is so great!!! I never thought of using a whole vanilla bean before! I have made my own milks in the past and had varying amounts of success — this recipe looks delicious and fool-proof. I am so excited to try this :) need a nut bag asap too :P you’re right about that cheesecloth business — I get all sorts of messy with stuff like that.
This sounds lovely! I wonder how it would compare nutritionally to store-bought almond milks.
Also, I must ask where you got the cute milk bottles!
1. Loving the black background with this photography
2. Your blender is beautiful
3. This post cracked me up a lot. Thank you! Laughter is the best medicine.